Press

Recent Press Releases

07/15/2004

PC Recovery Continues, Fueled by Strong Performance in Europe
and Moderate Enterprise Demand, According to IDC

FRAMINGHAM, MA – JULY 15, 2004 – The worldwide PC market remained strong in the second quarter of 2004, with growth of over 15% marking the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. Strong demand in Europe as well as better than expected results in Canada and Latin America boosted shipments to 39.7 million, roughly 1-2% ahead of forecast. Aggressive prices continue to fuel both consumer and commercial replacements, particularly for desktop systems. While portable growth remains strong, demand shifted toward desktops during the second quarter.

"Demand in Europe, supported by the strong Euro and aggressive promotions, was the biggest driver of the quarter," said Loren Loverde, director of IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. "Consumer demand and commercial replacements seem fairly steady across the major regions with growth slightly slower than expected in Asia, and faster in Europe, Canada and Latin America. Overall growth remains solid and strength in Europe bodes well for the second half of the year."

"Despite warnings from some sectors of the information technology industry, the recovery seems to be holding steady for now," said Roger Kay, vice president of Client Computing at IDC. "Consumers remain excited by digital media, and commercial organizations are in the full flood of PC replacement. This trend should persist at least through the end of the year.”

Regional Outlook

• United States – The United States showed strength in all segments except federal government, which suffered from a difficult compare with the year-ago quarter. The breadth of segment participation bodes well for a continued recovery as the U.S. market swings into the second half of the year when seasonal buying trends should come into play. Back-to-school, public sector, and consumer purchasing are all expected to sustain market momentum.

• EMEA – Strong desktop shipments sustained regional growth at approximately 20% for the fourth consecutive quarter. Corporate refreshes as well as an uplift in consumer renewals, stimulated by attractive systems and bundles in retail helped boost desktop growth. Portable growth remained above 25%, but slowed from the prior quarter.

• Japan – The Japanese market continues to struggle, limited by high portable penetration and a weak economy. Growth remained positive in 2Q04, but slowed from the first quarter.

• A/P – China continued to drive regional growth in-line with forecasts despite a decline in South Korea and limited impact from recent low-cost PC programs.

Vendor Highlights

• Dell – Dell maintained its lead in total worldwide shipments and sustained double-digit growth across all regions. Growth outside the U.S. and Japan was particularly strong at 30% or more in each region. Portables and x86 server growth also remained strong with each capturing a record share of shipments.

• HP – HP performed well, particularly outside of the U.S. with double-digit growth in all international markets. Strong portables growth was consistent with the overall market while corporate buying helped support overall volume.

• IBM – IBM also had a strong quarter with growth of over 17% worldwide supported by 30% growth in portables. Rising enterprise demand and strong performances in Europe and Asia helped boost overall results.

• Fujitsu/Fujitsu Siemens – Fujitsu Seimens recorded another strong quarter in Europe, as enterprise growth supported consumer and SMB demand. However, overall results were held back by a decline in Japan.

• Acer – Acer continued to perform well, pushing low cost portable systems in Europe but also growing desktops in Europe and Asia/Pacific.

• Gateway – Gateway's merger with eMachines was a bold move that should help the company's performance in coming quarters, but the transition contributed to a near 10% year-on-year decline in second quarter shipments from the combined companies.

• Toshiba – Toshiba had a strong quarter in Europe with growth over 30%, but trailed the market in other regions.